TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Thursday was a day for new backpacks and new beginnings—the first day of school for most of our area.
Rachel Goodman’s little girl said something kind of deep as she headed for her first day of Kindergarten.
“I've been waiting for this day for my whole life. She said this morning too.”
Shirley Goodman is five and a half years old. Her mom sent us a photo of Shirley and her carefully chosen first day outfit.
“She set out her clothes last night. She says, I want to wear the kitty cat dress. And she's gotten dressed. And she's sitting right here on the sofa. And she's so excited. She can barely stand still for the picture.”
Thousands of students, parents, teachers and administrators are feeling their own excitement as schools go back in session.
Brian Lambert is an Assistant Superintendent with TUSD. He looks forward to the day the 17 schools he oversees come back to life.
“The excitement is so high at the beginning, that by the end of the day you're just exhausted, but it's a fun exhaustion.”
Jonathan’s Educational Resources has been helping teachers get ready for opening day for 35 years.
Jonathan Katz says the day school gets out for the summer, teachers come in to get what they need for the day school is back in.
“There are those dedicated teachers who want to come in, they start shopping, they're going on summer vacation, they want to take care of. They want to see the newest things and they want to make sure that it's in stock which we always have in stock so yeah, they're in and then throughout the summer.”
At Jonathan’s, products show the enduring appeal of traditional teaching tools that never go out of style, but they reflect how the world has changed too, like items that address COVID precautions—and some of the anxiety the pandemic brought on.
But there’s mostly the joy of learning—like Shirley feels in her special kitty cat dress.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
